While many investors take actions that aren’t in their best self-interest, such as making trades based on emotions, rather than on logic, or holding on to a losing position so they won’t have to admit they made a bad trade, successful forex traders don’t do these things. Trading is a very special profession and trading successfully requires a unique set of skills. Forex trading can be learned by anyone, yet 95% lose all their money, so what makes forex trading so hard? It’s not learning the right information – it is doing so and executing it with the right mindset.

Successful forex traders set goals, and they also are confident they can reach their goals. Confidence is the key to staying rational, logical, and disciplined while you are trading. Starting with small, realistic goals will help build your confidence in yourself and your abilities. Successful forex traders also apply skill and logic to all their trading decisions. They learn every day, and they use what they know to make intelligent choices on every trade. Successful forex traders don’t worry about missing out on the next big thing, they focus on making good trades.

The ability to adjust to changing market conditions in the forex market is just one out of a few traits that are required in order to be a successful forex trader. Successful forex traders build a rewarding set of traits that enable long-term positive performance. Through these traits, every decision made creates an integrated trading plan aimed for success. From learning new techniques to studying economies, successful forex traders always adapt and optimize their systems to keep up with the changeable forex market.

Self-awareness is a key attribute of any professional and successful person. Only by being self-aware you can identify your weaknesses and find out how to correct them and be aware of your strengths in order to capitalize on them. A self-aware person is clear about his/her own character traits and does not try to hide them. Furthermore, a self-aware trader can pick the optimal trading strategy and style because he knows himself and also understands which trading approach fits his personality. Therefore, self-awareness sets the tone for the following discussion and is a vital factor for your success as a trader and in life.

Successful traders realize that they are not in control of the market (uncertainty), they view the market as a force of nature without an agenda. The only thing they can control is their own actions, activities, behaviors, and emotions. The top traders know they are not infallible. All humans have biases and limits to cognitive abilities, anyone is capable of being swayed or easily distracted and everyone’s personality is different and brings different influences to bear on their decision-making. However, successful traders work around these factors, they accept that losing is part of winning, and they know their job is to make money, not to be right.